Six decades of Korean contemporary art unfold in UAE’s largest showcase

“Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits” runs through June 30 at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi

Still image from "Delivery Dancer's Sphere" by Kim Ayoung (Courtesy of the artist)

The history and evolution of Korea’s contemporary art scene is now on view in the United Arab Emirates through the most extensive presentation to date in the Gulf Cooperation Council region.

Titled “Layered Medium: We Are In Open Circuits,” the exhibition opened Friday at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi, featuring 48 works by 29 Korean artists and spanning the 1960s to the present. All works are part of the Seoul Museum of Art’s collection, and the exhibition was co-curated by UK-based independent curator Maya El Khalil and Yeo Kyung-hwan of SeMA.

“Works from the Seoul Museum of Art’s collection that may have carried specific cultural resonance in Seoul could become more abstract or universal here, while other dimensions of this location surface new meanings,” said El Khalil. “This transfer is not a loss but a transformation, where different depths of connection become possible.”

"The Method of Drawing 76-1 (Performance in 1976, Printed in 2019)" by Lee Kun-yong (Courtesy of SeMA)

Visitors will encounter works by pioneering experimental artists Park Hyun-ki and Lee Kun-yong; internationally acclaimed multimedia artists Kim Ayoung and Jun So-jung; and leading interdisciplinary figures such as Lee Bul and Haegue Yang.

The exhibition traces key moments in Korea’s contemporary art history, beginning with the radical experimentation of the 1960s and 1970s, when artists began working with video, photography and performance. Highlights include Paik Nam-june’s “Self-Portrait Dharma Wheel,” Park Hyun-ki’s “TV Fishbowl” and “Video Inclining Water.”

Also featured are works that examine the body and sensory perception as tools for understanding the world, including Lee Kun-yong’s “The Method of Drawing: Body Drawing 76-2” and Oh Min’s “Etude for Etude (Music Performance).”

Organized as part of a three-year institutional partnership between SeMA and the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, the exhibition underscores six decades of Korea’s media art history while fostering cultural dialogue with the UAE.

"Untitled (Crystal Figure)" by Lee Bul (Courtesy of SeMA)

“This historic exhibition showcases the evolution of Korea’s media art scene over six decades, as well as its interaction with the artistic landscape of the UAE,” said Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, founder of ADMAF. “Under the joint curation of SeMA’s Kyung-hwan Yeo and Maya El Khalil, it also highlights the pioneering figures whose innovation and creativity have helped define what contemporary art is today.”

An accompanying publication, "Layered Dialogues," will include essays by UAE-based writers, further contextualizing the exhibition through a local lens.

“Layered Medium: We Are In Open Circuits” runs through June 30 in Abu Dhabi. A second co-curated exhibition, “Intense Proximities,” will follow in December at the SeMA, showcasing three generations of UAE-based artists from the 1980s to the present.

In addition to the exhibitions, the SeMA–ADMAF collaboration includes co-commissioned artworks, artist residencies, performances and film screenings in both Abu Dhabi and Seoul.

The exhibition is presented as part of Abu Dhabi Festival 2025, with the support of the Festival’s principal partners—Mubadala Investment Company and G42—and its energy partner, GS Energy.